A moving portrait of a woman tormented by her long dead lovers death, never knowing the answer to the mystery is closer than she could ever imagine.

I really enjoyed the beautiful idea of someone who refuses to let go of their crusade for justice, even if it causes tension in their relationships. I loved the perspective we get of older people and their challenges, both physical and emotional and the growth that is still there for us even as our lives are reaching the end. The reminder that what we thought defines us doesn’t have to limit us is so powerful and gave me such a feeling of freedom.

Thank you to NetGalley, Brilliance Audio, Lake Union Publishing and Get Red PR for my copies. These opinions are my own.

Thank you @melissapayne_writes @brilliancepublishing @amazonpublishing and @getredprbooks for the #gifted book and ALC and this is my honest review.

Birdie has regrets regarding her unrequited love for her friend Allison who she found murdered. Because she was a dancer, the cops called it a suicide and never looked into it with regards to a serial killer in the neighborhood. Birdie knew Allison would never leave her young son Felix who she was now left to raise. After many years and a bout of depression, Birdie abandons her quest to find Allison's killer.

Fifty years later Birdie is retired from her successful cleaning business and lives in the Sunny Pines Retirement Community. When dead animals start appearing in the community and a woman goes missing, Birdie starts investigating a string of murders. But Birdie isn't investigating alone this time. She has the help of an eclectic cast of characters in the community.

I enjoyed all the characters that at times made me laugh. But this is also a heartbreaking story of regrets. I liked how we heard Allison's voice and the restless souls that were watching. Birdie is the type of person who would help a person in need and watch out for them. I loved her character growth and the found family of the retirement community. This story had me hooked and I alternated between the book and the audio. The narrators @bahni_turpin
and @jercarparvo did a great job adding suspense and emotion to the story.

I loved the retirement community that surrounded Birdie. I know a handful of them didn’t necessarily want to be there but besides the couple shady things happening it sounded like a good time to me once everyone warmed up to one another. Nan and Joseph were some of my favorites. I liked the paranormal aspect and the mystery that followed Birdie. There were some heavier topics but I thought it was done in a respectful way. The conversations that came from them were heartfelt. I had a feeling about where the story was gonna go but I really enjoyed Birdie’s involvement with the mystery and watching her grow. I absolutely loved the narrator. They did a great job bringing the story to life.

Thank you @getredprbooks @melissapayne_writes the publisher and netgalley for the gifted audio

The concept of In the Beautiful Dark was compelling and I really wanted to love it. Unfortunately the pacing felt very slow and the middle dragged. There was a lot of repetition of thoughts and ideas, and the ending was pretty predictable.

Wow—what an absolute gem of a book! In The Beautiful Dark is a gripping, suspenseful mystery with a refreshingly unique perspective that had me hooked from start to finish.

Set primarily in a retirement community, the story follows a cast of elderly amateur sleuths unraveling a chilling murder mystery. It’s rare to find books that center older characters in such vital, active roles, and I found this to be one of the most refreshing and powerful aspects of the novel. The main character, an older woman, is sharp, deeply human, and full of heart—a far cry from the usual youthful protagonists we’re used to seeing.

The mystery itself is wonderfully layered, steeped in grief, regret, and secrets from the past, with just the right touch of suspense.
There’s even a light sapphic romance woven in—tasteful and adding a layer of emotional depth. I’m not usually drawn to stories with this type of romance, but it really worked here.

And the audiobook! Narrated by the incredible Bahni Turpin and Jeremy Carlisle Parker, the audio performance truly brings this story to life. Both narrators perfectly captured the emotion, tension, and charm of the characters. Their voices made it so easy to get swept up in the world of this story.

Oh—and I have to mention the stunning cover. It’s as captivating as the story within.

If you love mysteries with heart, rich character perspectives, and a plot that keeps you guessing, don’t miss this one. In The Beautiful Dark is a standout—both thrilling and deeply moving. I absolutely loved it.

I’m such a fan of all ages being represented in reading. I think there’s a lack of older characters in fiction. While only one book, this book tries to lessen the gap.

So not only is our main character living in a retirement community, she has a great group of friends there. I connected with Bridie right he away. I’ll admit she triggered me a little as my parents are going through health issues, but that doesn’t take away from her fierceness. She’s strong and resilient and fights for what she believes.

I liked the mystery in the past timeline and was eager to find out what happened and see if it tied into the future.

I liked the antics of Birdie and her friends as they investigated their missing friend. They are a great group of quirky characters that played well off each other.

And while I was caught up in the mystery, I found I was more invested in the characters and their stories.

Bahni Turpin and Jeremy Carlisle Parker are great narrators and brought to life these quirky characters and their connections.

Overall a haunting story of how an unsolved mystery can stay with us for life.

Thank you @getredprbooks & @melissapayne_writes @lakeunionauthors for the ARC copy!

"𝐀 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝’𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠-𝐚𝐠𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐡𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐬."

⭐⭐⭐⭐

The synopsis of this drew me in. I knew I needed to give it a read. Encompassing mystery, relationships, humour, grief, guilt, and friendship - every aspect kept me intrigued. I appreciated getting something different from my norm. The main characters reside in a retirement community. All the personalities were so good together. They all added so much dimension to the story.

The mystery element definitely had me curious. It was woven in so well. The challenges faced by the protagonist, Birdie, highlighted the impact of losing a loved one on both her and those around her. With the added chaos of current events, I truly empathized with the characters. I thoroughly enjoyed this read.

* Audio was also fantastic. Narrated by Bahni Turpin & Jeremy Carlisle Parker - they brought this story to life! Thank you @brilliancepublishing & Brilliance Audio!

Fifty years ago Birdie Allen’s best friend and true love was murdered in their home by a serial killer, leaving her to raise her son. For fifty years she has been trying to find her murderer. Now with renewed focus and the support of her new friends at Sunny Pines Retirement Community she is determined to solve her murder before he kills again.

I really enjoyed this book. I spotlighted this the other day but knew I wanted to read it. I finished it in a day because it sucked me in from the first page. This cast of characters was so entertaining, and although it was a thriller I did enjoy the quips from Birdie and her feisty friends. I just hope I’m like this when I get older.

What a delightful story!
I absolutely loved all the characters, but Birdie was definitely my favorite.
This book blends heartfelt and heartwarming moments with a touch of mystery, making it a truly compelling read. Suspenseful, nostalgic, fast-paced, and memorable—this one’s a great read from start to finish.

Oh my heart. As a wlw I am a sucker for any stories with sapphic love and this pulled on those heartstrings yall. The story claims to be a “general fiction/ murder mystery/ fantasy” but this is a LOVE STORY people. Love of your person and of your community. At the center of this story is Birdie and Alison and Birdie’s commitment to the love of her life even after her death. I did not expect to love this book as much as I did. Thank you so much NetGalley and Brilliance Audio and Melissa Payne for this beautiful story 🖤🥹

Birdie is a colorful and lovable woman with a huge heart. A heart that was broken by the death of a close friend. This tremendous loss created a life-long drive to keep searching for alternative answers to what really happened to her friend.

Fifty-years later, Birdie now resides in a retirement home where she meets who offer insight into her haunting memories. This is an endearing story that blends magical realism with truth, mystery, and love.

I really loved the audio production. Bahni Turpin and Jeremy Carlisle Parker delivered flawless narration.

A cozy mystery with ghosts, secrets, and one unforgettable grandma. Birdie Allen is chasing down a decades-old killer with help from the living and the dead.
If you love twisty plots, found family, and a touch of the paranormal… don’t skip this one!

The narrator was fantastic. Totally played the part so well I was able to enjoy the story and feel like I was living in that senior retirement community.

Interesting characters. Thoroughly back story. Perhaps a little too much of that. Like the mystery part but not a fan of science fiction elements here.

Thank you @getredprbooks @brilliancepublishing #partner for the gifted copy of this book.

This is my 3rd Melissa Payne book thanks for my friends @getredpr and I am so thankful this partnership because I don’t think I would have found Melissa without them! I am a huge fan of her books because Melissa has a talent and writing skill that makes me completely emotionally invested in her characters and their lives. I STILL can remember the first two books I’ve read of hers which says A LOT because of how any books I read each year it’s easy to forget the ones that don’t stick with me. In The Beautiful Dark is similar in my sentiments of the others I’ve read by Payne in the sense that I easily became engrossed with these characters. I absolutely loved Birdie and her tenacity to not give up at her age until she found the information that haunted her, her whole life. I could feel the regret, sadness and grief Birdie felt. The current mystery and deaths were intriguing and I really enjoyed the setting of these characters in the retirement community! I listened to this one and followed along with my eyeballs and I will say the audiobook really made this story come alive. If you’re a fan of mystery, stories about grief, healing with a touch of romance then this book is for you!

Mystery lovers and serial killer enthusiasts, here is a new book just for you! This haunting tale was an ode to all the forgotten victims in the world, those who were deemed not worth investigating because of their color, job, or station in the world.

This book felt like a heavier version of The Thursday Murder Club, and I was fully on board! I loved that this story took place at a retirement community and that Birdie and her merry band of sleuths were almost all septuagenarians or older. Not only does it create a colorful cast all with their own pasts and burdens to carry, but it adds an extra layer of complexity in that the elderly are often written off as being too old or too weak or too addled to be of any use anymore. It was a perfect accompaniment to this story about women who didn't get justice because they were deemed unworthy in society at the time.

What I also enjoyed about this book was the growth Birdie went through as a person even in her seventies. While the mystery was the vehicle of the story, what drove it was Birdie's development as a character, the realizations she has about herself in relation to her past and her present.

Where I struggled a bit was with the interludes of Allison's character. I think the point was to pay homage to the murdered victims, to give voice to them rather than giving all the attention to the killer, and I did appreciate that. And while these sections did provide some foreshadowing, I didn't really see much of the point of them. They drew me out of the story more than they got me invested. I think it may have been the kind of ethereal way in which they were written that pulled me out rather than had me latching on to the foreshadowing they offered.

Even so, I enjoyed the story very much and definitely recommend! Bahni Turpin was a fantastic narrator (no surprise) as was Jeremy Carlisle Parker (also no surprise).

3.25. Over 50 years prior, Birdie lost her love to what she believes was murder and it still hasn’t been solved. Now in her older age, she’s noticing a pattern of suspicious events around her retirement community that look a lot like what happened in the past. She has some new friends in the community who are more than willing to help with this mystery she’s focused on.

I did enjoy this story, especially getting to know the characters in this retirement community. There was a mystery aspect but the majority of the story was a detailed portrait of ordinary life, with a focus on the rhythms and routines that define their days. I really felt for Birdie and what she was going through when no one else seemed to. Some of the dialogue between characters feel more like telling than organic conversation which made it difficult for me to really believe in this story, I just don’t feel that an elderly woman would be telling the police to take over because she’s tired when they’re arriving to a crime scene etc so expect a dated tv feel at times. Overall I loved the heart and sincerity of this story.

The narrator did a fantastic job!

Thank you so much to GetRed PR and Melissa Payne for providing this physical ARC. This is my honest review! This publishes on April 22nd.

In the Beautiful Dark by Melissa Payne

Birdie is retired and living at a retirement community. She is haunted by the death of someone close to her more than 50 years ago. When fishy things start to happen at the retirement home, Birdie and her friends work to uncover the truth.

I really like books with elderly characters. I enjoyed almost all of them! This story pulled at my heartstrings, but it also had a ton of drama and mystery. The author’s note should not be missed!

This was a compelling story of losing someone you loved, discovery, and mystery! Although romance sometimes pulls me out of the thrill of a mystery, I really enjoyed it and thought it blended really well. I loved the narrative she told and I'd be interested in finding this authors other books.

I’m not completely sure how to rate this book. It’s a unique story with a very intriguing premise, but I struggled to get through it, and I’m not entirely sure why. I didn’t really connect with Birdie, despite her touching backstory, and was perhaps a little lost with the characters and all the information we get in the first half. That said, even if In the Beautiful Dark was not for me, I still think it’s a book worth noticing and might give it another shot in a while.